Christ Church Cobble Hill

3 SUNDAY:  THE THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST (Proper 17)
Sunday Summer Schedule.

Holy Eucharist 11:00 AM. In the garden, weather permitting. (Coffee & Conversation follows)

Parish House:
AA 7:30-8:30 AM

4 Monday:  Weekday
Labor Day
Parish/School Office CLOSED

Parish House:
NEIGHBORHOOD PLAYSPACE CLOSED

5 Tuesday:  Weekday
Holy Eucharist  9:00 AM *   

Parish House:
NEIGHBORHOOD PLAYSPACE - 9:30 AM-12:00 Noon / 12:30-3:00 PM
COBBLE HILL BALLET - 1:00-2:30 PM

6 Wednesday:  Weekday
Evening Prayer 6:00 PM

Parish House:
NEIGHBORHOOD PLAYSPACE 9:30 AM-12:00 Noon / 12:30-3:00 PM

7 Thursday:  Weekday

Linden Tree Preschool Opening Day

Parish House:
LINDEN TREE PRESCHOOL - 9:00 AM-12:00 Noon
NEIGHBORHOOD PLAYSPACE - 9:30 AM-12:00 Noon
COBBLE HILL BALLET - 1:00-3:15 PM

8 Friday: The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Day of Special Devotion:  Abstinence

Holy Eucharist  9:00 AM *

Parish House:
LINDEN TREE PRESCHOOL - 9:00 AM-12:00 Noon / 12:30-3:30 PM
NEIGHBORHOOD PLAYSPACE - 9:00 AM-12:00 Noon

9 Saturday:  Constance, Nun, and her Companions, 1878

Parish House:
AA 7:30-8:30 AM
COBBLE HILL BALLET - 10:00 AM-12:45 PM

10  SUNDAY:  THE FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST (Proper 18)
Holy Eucharist 11:00 AM.  In the garden, weather permitting. (Coffee & Conversation follows)

Parish House:
AA 7:30-8:30 AM

*  At Saint Andrew's House, 199 Carroll Street, between Court and Clinton Streets

CHRIST CHURCH FOR KIDS: SUNDAY SCHOOL

We will have an organizational meeting on Sunday, 21 September for planning and scheduling courses and teachers for our Sunday School.  You do not need to have a child in the Sunday School to be a teacher.  The commitment is for 10 weeks.  Please consider this as something YOU can do for your church!

CHRIST CHURCH BOOK READING GROUP

The Christ Church Book Reading Group is currently reading Dark Fire by C.J. Sansom is published by Penguin Books at $14.00 (available from Amazon.com starting at $1.37); ISBN: 0143036432. 512 pages. This book is a is the next in the series after Dissolution, our last selection. The discussion notes and a review of the book are on the leaflet table. We will meet this Wednesday, 20 September, for good food and drink, and a lively discussion of this book following the 6:30 p.m. Mass. If you are interested in joining us, please R.S.V.P. on 718-625-2919, or speak with the Vicar.

CHRIST CHURCH COMMUNITY OUTREACH

Can and Will You Help with our outreach ministry? We want to schedule a meeting to plan for the future of this work, including applying for grants and working more closely with Family Consultation Service to distribute food, clothing, school supplies, campers supplies, toys, etc. and adopting a family year-round — and working with Cobble Hill Nursing Home to provide on-going visits to residents. CHIPS (Christian Help in Park Slope) feeds the hungry and provides counseling and clothing to those in need. Please consider this outreach of our Christian community to our wider community!

SUMMERTIME, AND THE LIVIN’S EASY

Church Members are reminded that church expenses do not take a summer break . . . so please keep your pledge to your church up-to-date as you take your own summer vacations.

REFLECTION

"I have a coffee mug with a picture of Moses on it, coming down the mountain with the Ten Commandments. One of those gathered below says, "Not another mission statement!"

We can smile at that kind of statement. It seems that there are many people who try to inspire us to do better. God is the one we should be listening to with the most intention. What a treasure, to be gifted with the law! It provides a great checklist for us. When we're breaking the commandments chances are that we're on the wrong path. Then it can be easy for us to identify where the trouble lies and make some changes. When we're following them, chances are that our lives are going pretty well. It's likely that we're as content with ourselves as others are.

It's not easy to follow the law, though. We walk that road the best when we are in good spiritual condition. Then it becomes natural for us to follow the law, just as if that law were implanted within us. When we are comfortable and confident within ourselves and with what God has given us it's not necessary for us to prove anything. We can easily treat others justly and notice and respond to the needs of those around us. We can easily love God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves.

There are other times though, when it isn't so easy. It usually begins when we try to follow our own way. Someone treats us badly and we begin to scheme at how we might get back at them. Our resentment takes more and more time and energy. Before long we aren't sleeping well. We begin to take it out on those we love the most. Before long our sense of well-being is gone. We have fed that resentment and find that we've wandered far from the path God would have us follow.

We can look at those around us and the things they find important. We can become jealous and strive to have what they do. Before long we stop showing appreciation for what we have. Even the loving people in our lives don't seem to be enough. We have fed that jealousy and find that we've wandered far from the path God would have us follow.

When our spiritual defenses are down we can become quite judgmental. We can look for the flaws of those around us and begin to criticize and gossip. Perhaps if we make others seem a little less they won't be as likely to notice the flaws in us. That kind of negativity feeds on itself and before long we can feel a little dirty. Gossip can become a habit and we can find it difficult to see ourselves clear of it. We can find that others trust us less too, sensing that when their backs are turned we'll be talking about them as well.

Our lack of respect and honesty are signs that we're on the wrong path. We can conclude the same things when our actions no longer match our words. We can go on in this state as long as we wish. But when we've decided that we've suffered enough, God will be waiting for us to help us pick up the pieces.

We're offered the Penitential Order, a General Confession or Sacrament of Reconciliation. We can say "I'm sorry," and "I forgive you." We can look again at the wonderful law God has given us. We can try to open ourselves to such and extent that God can write it within us. It's so easy to believe that we should seek our own way. The truth is though, that we'll never be happy or fulfilled until we follow God's way.

This week we can look for areas in our own lives where we don't fully live God's law. We can open ourselves to God and ask God to write that law within us. We can know God's great love for us and open the door that can lead to happiness, peace and a fuller life. Have a good week!

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

"What great nation has statutes and decrees that are as just as this whole law which I am setting before you today?" Why should the Israelites have felt blessed and privileged to have received God's law?

"One who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord." Is it possible to observe God's law and not do justice?

"Be doers of the word and not hearers only." Think about growing up. When are some times we were confused when the behavior and words of adults didn't match? How would we react if our own children or grandchildren pointed out that discrepancy in us?

"This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts. You disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition." This is the kind of confrontation that was brought about because Jesus' disciples didn't scrupulously was their hands before eating. What point was Jesus trying to make? Do you think those present really "listened" to what he had to say?

How are these Scriptures comforting? Challenging?

 PRACTICE OF FAITH: WISDOM CONSEQUENCES.  In the Book of Jeremiah we hear of the internal chaos that plagues the prophet.  After being made the object of ill-humored jokes and even hatred, Jeremiah feel quite the fool.  He not only feel that he was duped by God but feels foolish for having let himself be duped — lured in by promises that turn up empty time and time again.

Suffering, pain and misunderstanding, however, are part of the life of a disciple.  It's not that God's message is a hollow trick — it is a message of life and growth.  And wherever there is the expectation of life and the exhilaration of growth, there will be suffering and pain.  Jesus himself said so to his disciples:  Those who want to follow him into life must take up their cross.

Suffering does not mean that the Christian message is a sham.  Nor does anyone who suffers do so alone.  Christ is our pattern here:  As Christ's suffering led to the glory of the resurrection, our suffering can also lead to new life.  And in our pain, confusion or search for meaning, we have the companionship of Christ to support us. [ link ]

PRACTICE OF HOPE: THAT YOU MAY REFRESH YOURSELVES.  Members of Church Women United living around Waterbury, Connecticut, feel honored when people refer to them as Meatloaf Ladies.  Once a month these women deliver between 40 and 60 two-pound meatloaves to a soup kitchen at St John's Episcopal Church in Waterbury.  The church feeds 250 people every day, so regular and dependable donations of food are much appreciated.  Suzanne Pinard, who initiated the idea of meatloaf deliveries, says of the project, "It's something a lot of people can be involved in without much effort.  It you just put the word out, it multiplies.  People are very willing to help." [ link  ]

PRACTICE OF CHARITY:  A BURNING FIRE.  With the help of psychologists, we have come to see that anger, one of the seven capital (deadly) sins, is neutral until we act on it.  When anger leads to violence or to injustice, it is sinful.  But anger that moves us to action on behalf of peace or justice is not sinful;  it is an important emotion.  We know from the gospels that Jesus used his anger to condemn the unjust practices of his time.  Is there a fire burning in you about some injustice?  Use the fire of that anger to light a path of action for you to follow, a guide to fruitful and grace-filled response to the injustice you see.       [ link ]